^'"Aug"';8^75^'"''}  Gleanings  from  the  European  Journals,  349 
Carnauha  Root. — Chas.  Symes  describes  this  root,  which  was  a  short 
time  ago  received  at  Liverpool  with  the  statement  that  its  therapeutic 
qualities  rival  those  of  sarsaparilla. 
The  root  is  that  of  Corypha  cerifera.^  a  wax-bearing  palm,  growing 
on  the  shores  of  the  Rio  Francesco  in  the  Brazils  ;  it  is  several  feet 
in  length,  and  has  an  average  thickness  of  three-eighths  of  an  inch,  of 
a  mixed  greyish  and  reddish-brown  color,  giving  off  here  and  there 
small  rootlets.  The  cortical  portion  is  comparatively  thick,  somewhat 
friable  and  loosely  surrounds  the  meditullium  which  encloses  the  pith  \ 
thus  a  traverse  section  somewhat  resembles  in  appearance  an  exogenous 
stem.  Its  infusion  is  similar  in  color  to  that  of  wild  cherry  bark,, 
possesses  an  agreeable,  slightly  bitter  taste  and  an  odor  not  unlike  that  of 
sarsaparilla  ;  its  color  is  slightly  deepened,  but  no  precipitate  occurs  on. 
the  addition  of  liq.  potassae;  neither  on  the  addition  of  dilute  acids. 
Finct.  ferri  perchlor.  does  not  strike  a  black,  but  brownish  color,, 
gradually  followed  by  turbidity  and  the  formation  of  a  brown  deposit. 
The  decoction  is  not  affected  by  iodine,  indicating  the  absence  of 
starch  ;  a  drop  of  it  concentrated  on  a  porcelain  slab  and  treated  with 
strong  sulphuric  acid,  produces  an  olive  green,  slowly  changing  to  a 
brown  color.  It  yields  25  per  cent,  of  a  reddish-brown  extract  pos- 
sessing a  decidedly  bitter  taste. — Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans. Feb'y  20. 
The  Active  Principle  of  Aloes — Dr.  Wm.  Craig  read  at  the  March 
meeting  of  the  North  British  Branch  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of 
Great  Britain  a  lengthy  paper  on  this  subject,  and  arrived  at  the  follow- 
ing conclusions  : 
1.  Aloin  may,  by  exposure  to  the  air,  undergo  considerable  chemical 
change  without  losing  its  physiological  action  as  an  active  aperient. 
2.  The  resin  of  aloes,  when  thoroughly  exhausted  of  aloin,  possesses 
no  purgative  properties,  and  therefore  cannot  be  the  active  principle  of 
aloes. 
3.  The  resin  of  aloes  is  not  the  cause  of  the  griping  which  some- 
times follows  the  administration  of  the  drug. 
4.  Aloin  is  an  active  aperient,  and  is,  in  all  likelihood,  the  active 
principle  of  aloes. 
The  author  argues  in  favor  of  admitting  aloin  into  the  Pharmaco- 
poeia.— Ibid..^  April  17. 
Botanical  source  of  Rhubarb. — Maximowicz  does  not  dispute  the  fact, 
that  Rheum  officinale  of   Baillon  yields  a  commercial  rhubarb  (see 
